5.07.2012

Spain is only in Spanish

In our first post, we will ask our readers for apologies due to a very simple fact: we do not speak and writte proper English at all.If you have certain international experience, and moreover, if you are not Italian, Portuguese or even French, you would have already realised about this evidence: Spanish people speak and write an indecent English. This is particularly so for those Spanish in their '30s and beyond. Why?.Very simple my dear readers and friends: during the past 40 years, Spain did not invest at all on a proper languages policy, or, better said, the Spanish governments invested in a SPANISH-BASED policy, excluding anything that could jeopardize the domain of such as noble language.

How this was translated into in the country?. Very simple!, whether you beleive it or not, the following things has happened in Spain over the past 30 years:

Every movie, TV show / series or documentary is systematically translated into Spanish. This also applies to cartoons, which obviously impedes babies and the youngest people to get used to English, French or any other language.

The availability of foreign languanges material is almost inexistent. And, if you find it, you will be oblige to pay double, tripple, not to say 5x times the normal cost.

The public education system did not offered English as a second language until recently. Yes, yes, beleive it or not, we're in our '30s and our first alternative option to Spanish was... FRENCH!. Which is not bad, but, come on, what about the G-L-O-B-A-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N process it was taking place at the moment!. We cannot say our policy-makers were quite visionary!.

... and we do not want to bore you with more details. All of this (and much more, see posts to come on the "provincialism" of the Spaniards) show how retarded we are, we mean, in languages-related issues. :-)

So, do not expect to find in this Blog SHAKESPEARE-style articles and posts. We have included the Google-tanslator option, but please have mercy of us and continue reading, ok???.

2 comments:

In fact, when you say "Every movie, TV show [..] are translated into Spanish" I cannot help feeling an strange impression. I live in Switzerland and every movie, TV show... is translated into German and I know this is the same in several countries across Europe.

Following with that, I've met people in different parts of Europe whose English was quite bad and they were not Spaniards... ;)

I admit the country could be improved, but I've seen what you call "provincialism" in a lot of places and I don't think that Spaniards beat other countries in this issue.

Ei Anonymous, thanks a lot for your comment, it's the first one indeed! :) I see you have more mercy than I with my own people / State, and fully agree on the point that there are other examples of bad practicess around in Europe... yet, another key "feature" of Spain is the lack of self-critical analysis, and that's why I created this Blog!. Keep in touch, all the best!.